Goostrey Art Studio has been on tour.  Professional artist Debbie Goldsmith declared that November was ‘super busy’. She was preparing for two events at the end of the month, one in Crewe and the other in Bury.

On Saturday 25th, crowds were wowed by Crewe’s first lantern parade which the Town Council had organised to celebrate the switching on of the Christmas lights.  During half term, Debbie led lantern making workshops at Crewe Heritage Centre. Participants made star lanterns and helped Debbie to create a huge showpiece owl lantern. On the day, the effect was magical.

Children and families in Bury made 200 pyramid lanterns from willow and paper during workshops that Debbie led in schools and in the community.  On Sunday 26th, over 500 people paraded through Bury and the spectacular creations lit up the town centre. The event included live music, street entertainment and a fire display staged by an organisation called Walk the Plank.

Friends of Goostrey Station are proud that Debbie is making such good use of her art studio in the station building.  As well as pursuing her own interest in painting and rug making, she gets so many other people involved in creative activities.

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Great news!

Two of our Cheshire Stations have been shortlisted in the Photo Competition: Capturing the essence of community rail in the 2024 Community Rail Awards.

• Friends of Goostrey Station – Beavers Doing Their Best
• Friends of Reddish South Station – Tai Chi Evening on the Station Platform

But to win they need your votes at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CRA2024

Please encourage your friends and family to support our Cheshire Stations by voting.

Voting is open until 29th January but note you can only vote for one of the stations.

Christina Burgess from the Friends of Goostrey Station keeps us informed about the good work at Goostrey ….

The Friends of Goostrey Station are rightly proud of their achievements and it’s exciting when others approach us for help. The latest request came from a station adoption group in Lancashire.

 

 

Eight years ago, a group of volunteers adopted Silverdale station on the Furness Line, the railway that connects Barrow-in-Furness to Lancaster. Recently several Friends of Silverdale Station travelled by train (of course!) to Goostrey, seeking advice. Their members already tidy the platforms and plant flowerbeds, but now they are keen to restore the Victorian waiting room for community use.  

Our visitors were amazed at how much FoGS had achieved since 2012 – from displays of art and railway memorabilia and mapping changes in biodiversity to the rejuvenation of the station building as Goostrey Art Studio. They left with plenty of advice, and high hopes for the future of their group. 

 

Life continues to be busy for professional artist Debbie Goldsmith. During half term, she led a workshop at Crewe Heritage Centre. This was part of Operation Autumn, a series of family friendly arts and crafts events organised by Crewe Town Council.  The Council commissioned Debbie to create a huge lantern which would feature at the Christmas Lights switch-on on 25th November.  

In preparation, she built a frame at Goostrey Art Studio.  On the day, over 60 visitors helped transform it into an owl surrounded by stars. There was lots of positive feedback. One person said ‘Never done this before but I thoroughly enjoyed it’. Another added, ‘I’m gripped – must try this at home’. 

In November, Debbie had a selection of her own pantings and rugs on display at the Art Fringe Festival in Manchester. Over the course of four days, the Comme Ca Art Gallery at Hope Mill in Ancoats became a hub for artists working in different disciplines. Visitors were able to talk to the artists about their work and could commission an exclusive, bespoke piece. 

 

Friends of Goostrey Station are thrilled that Debbie is making such good use of her studio in the restored station building.

In late August the Crewe to Manchester Community Rail Partnership kindly gave the Friends of Handforth Station (FoHS) a number of copies of “Arlos Adventures There and Back”.

This Rail Safety book is written by train driver Bessie Matthews, and is aimed at children aged 7-13 years old. The book’s story follows Arlo and his friends on a day out as they make safe choices around the railway, its trains, and its stations.

FoHS have now donated copies of the book to each of Handforth’s three primary schools and to the local library.

In September, FoHS president Mike Bishop presented St Benedict’s Roman Catholic Primary School with 70 copies of the Rail Safety book, to head teacher Hannah McGuire and Year teacher Sonny McCarthy. To conclude the assembly, the children sang a hymn accompanied on the piano by music teacher and FoHS member, Rosemary Thomason.

In October, Mike presented a Year 3 class assembly at the Wilmslow Academy with multiple copies of the “Arlo” book. After the presentation, Natalie Scappaticci, in charge of the assembly, said “We’re grateful to the Rail Partnership, and to FoHS, for helping us to keep our children safe.”

More recently, Mike presented more “Arlo” books to the local community. He attended a school assembly at Handforth Grange School and presented head teacher Andrea Booth with 90 copies of the “Arlo” book. Later that morning, Mike donated 30 copies to Debbie Wood, head librarian at Handforth Library. Debbie said “As Handforth’s children grow up and use the railway more and more independently, we hope they’ll remember the lessons in this great little book.”

Commenting on the four book donations, Mike Bishop said “We are very pleased to donate such a worthwhile book to our local primary schools and to the public library. We hope that youngsters will enjoy reading it and, more importantly, that they learn important lessons about how to travel safely on the railway.”